In your Monday morning staff meeting with your boss, a surprise drug testing initiative is announced with the goal to have everyone screened by the end of the week. Panic begins to set in; you’ve just spent the weekend partying with friends, and it was a wild one. While you understand the consequences associated with increased drug use in the workplace, you never thought it would impact your position.
A quick internet search on your phone turns up several tips on passing a drug test – synthetic urine, detox drinks, and home remedies are all designed to combat your recent choices. lapse of judgement. Smooth sailing now, right?
Not exactly. While these solutions may boast success rates, employers can rest assured that these tricks will not dupe a professional drug screening program.
Synthetic Urine
This method of drug testing deception is one of the more common, and as a result, is becoming illegal in many states. “Synthetic urine is essentially water that has been fortified with various constituents such as creatinine, salts, and yellow coloring in an effort to make a specimen appear to be normal human urine and pass standard tests of specimen validity,” explains Quest Diagnostics.
But this choice is not a safety net by any means. Laboratories like Quest Diagnostics are taking steps to identify these fake substances by screening for additional constituents and pioneering supplementary specimen validity testing.
Additionally, synthetic products will not have the temperature standard for an authentic urine sample. Of course, these items can be heated but it is extremely difficult to warm to the exact natural temperature upon collection.
Detox Drinks
Many marijuana users turn to detox beverages to flush the drug from their system. These drinks can be purchased online or in drug stores, often stating results within hours.
Directions for use are simple; drink the product, and after urinating a few times following use, the test results will come back clean.
However, these drinks are not all the claim to be; the coloring and flavorings impact the color of a sample, which is a tip-off to collectors and laboratory technicians.
Home Remedies
It is believed that there are simple solutions to prevent positive test results. Some recommend drinking plenty of water to cleanse your system, while others swear by overconsumption of coffee, cranberry juice, lemon juice, and Vitamin B due to their natural ability to promote diuresis.
These methods are almost always ineffective, especially for habitual users of the drug.
It may seem like there are plenty of methods for producing a negative result in drug testing, but screening solutions are rapidly advancing to combat deception. If it’s been a while since you’ve evaluated your drug screening solutions, now is the time to rethink your process. Schedule a review with an ESS expert today by emailing solutions@es2.com.
Additional Sources:
WeedNews.Co, International Business Times, Oregon Cannabis Connection
